Hi folks, we are back with our weekly edition of China’s Digital Digest, wherein we bring you weekly updates on China’s digital space. The report takes a quick glance at China’s complex and rapidly evolving social media landscape by providing updates on the latest happenings across the social media industry. Here are the major highlights of the report.
1. Tencent Acquires Two ByteDance Game Studios
Tencent Holdings, operator of the world’s biggest video gaming business by revenue, has taken over some of TikTok owner ByteDance’s ditched gaming projects as the industry continues its consolidation amid ongoing weakness in consumer spending and regulatory uncertainties.
LightSpeed Studios, one of Tencent’s key gaming units and the maker of popular title PUBG Mobile, has absorbed a project in Shenzhen previously owned by ByteDance’s Gravity Studio and an open-world project belonging to ByteDance’s Jiangnan Studio in Hangzhou, according to people familiar with the matter. A company named Saluosi has been set up for the two projects, with former ByteDance employees from its main gaming unit Nuverse studio joining the new venture, according to the people. Business registration information platform Tianyancha showed that Saluosi, established in December 2023, is 100 percent owned by Tencent.
2. Bilibili Targeting More Collaboration With E-Commerce Advertisers Like Taobao
China’s video-sharing platform Bilibili has added cross-platform links to Alibaba Group Holding’s online shopping platform Taobao in the latest attempt to pull in more revenue from its 100 million daily active users (DAUs).
Bilibili, which is still in the red since going public on Nasdaq in 2018, has posted Taobao Live adverts on its homepage, which allow users to jump directly to the shopping platform by clicking on the link. Last month, Bilibili also collaborated with Pinduoduo, allowing its users to move to the budget shopping platform by using coupons provided by PDD. Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com has also posted ads on Bilibili’s homepage, according to local media reports.
3. TikTok Revamps Creator Rewards Program to Incentivize Longer Uploads
After announcing that it was bringing its Creativity Program out of beta earlier this month, TikTok has now officially launched the updated monetization initiative, under a new name: “Creator Rewards Program.”
The new Creator Rewards Program includes a new in-app dashboard where you can track your performance and payouts, while more creators will now also be eligible to take part in the initiative. The program is designed to ensure creators get paid for uploading high-quality, longer content, with only videos over a minute long eligible for participation. The more views that you get, the greater your payouts from the scheme.
4. TikTok Adds New Influencer Audio Clips to Its Commercial Sounds Library
TikTok has added some new elements to its “Sounds for Business” audio library, with extra audio clips from a range of TikTok influencers, which are free to use for advertisers in the app.
The new audio samples, available in TikTok’s “Commercial Audio Library”, will provide more options for your campaigns. The idea is that you’ll be able to use more recognizable voices in your TikTok promotions, via audio clips recorded by platform stars. Audio is an important part of the TikTok experience, with 88% of TikTok users agreeing that sound plays an essential role in their enjoyment of the app. Additionally, 73% of TikTok users say that sounds prompt them to “stop and look” at an ad, so you should be considering how you can use sound to best effect.
5. TikTok Adds Search Insights to Better Inform Content Strategies
TikTok is rolling out a new analytics element called “Creator Search Insights”, which will provide creators with info on what users are searching for in the app, so that they can customize their content approach in line with interests.
TikTok’s Search Insights will enable creators to check out popular search terms related to the content that they create (“For you”), as well as general trending content from across the app. You’ll also be able to filter the results by broad topic, like “Sports”, “Science”, etc.) to help you find more specific data insights.
6. TikTok Expands AR Creator Rewards Program To Tap into Emerging Trends
TikTok has announced an expansion of its Effect Creator Rewards program, which will enable more AR creators in more regions to earn money by creating digital experiences in the app.
The program is expanding to 33 more regions, including Argentina, Austria, Bahrain, Belgium, Belarus, Chile, Colombia, Czechia, Denmark, Ecuador, Egypt, Greece, Hungary, Israel, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Mexico, Morocco, New Zealand, Norway, Oman, Peru, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey and Uruguay. Effect Creator Rewards is now available in a total of 53 regions.
TikTok launched its Effect Creator Rewards program in May last year, before expanding it to more regions in October. TikTok has also lowered the barriers for entry, enabling more creators to get paid for their effects. And now, it’ll enable even more AR creators to monetize their effects.
Wrapping Up
The vast and diverse nature of the Chinese Social Media space makes it incredibly challenging to keep a tab on the rapid developments taking place. However, China’s Digital Digest brings you all the latest updates from there to keep you abreast of all the evolving trends.
To delve deeper into the findings of our latest report, click here.